Beginner - Equipment Recommendation? (mill / lathe)

reharbert

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Good morning! New member here, and I don't yet own any machining equipment. Wasn't sure where to post, but this seemed like a good place. I apologize if there is somewhere better.

I'm looking for a mill and lathe for home/hobby use. I'm involved in motorsports, and my kids and I race go karts, micro sprints, full size sprint cars, and build duck boat engines. I want to start to start doing my own engine machine work, and learn to use a mill and lathe to help with some of my other needs and hobbies.

In the next few weeks I'd like to purchase a mill and lathe. I've been looking for weeks, but it's hard to just pick something and go with it. I don't want to make the wrong purchase and need to sell and replace in a few years. My main goal is to work with small engines for motorcycles, gokarts, and mudmotors (air cooled lawn mower engines). I'd like to keep my budget on the equipment at $4,000 or less. If this means waiting a few months longer to get DROs I'm OK with that.

Are the combo mills/lathes any good, or am I better off getting two separate machines? I'm not sure what questions to ask, but I'm hoping you guys can point me in the right direction. I've never worked with the machines, but have watched more than my share of heads/blocks being decked and resurfaced.

Thank you very much!
 
I would steer clear of the combo machines. The lathe part is usually ok, but the mill part will have very limited capacity. Grizzly makes nice stuff new, although it recently got expensive with the tariff. You can also look for used equipment. I'd aim for something that still runs (nobody new wants to rebuild for the first time). You should see a lot of the old oil country equipment around there.
 
As much as I like the idea of the combo I was concerned one part would be limited, but was being optimistic! I hadn't thought of the tarrifs, but I am searching locally for something used.
 
Keep your eye on the Houston Craigs List. I see used mills and lathes come up from time to time. What kind of space do you have in your shop? Also be ready to spend significant additional money on tooling. It may take some patience for the right equipment to come up on Craigs list but sooner or later it will.

Btw, Welcome to the forum. You came to a great community and will find lots of help here.
 
Thanks! I'm a fan of web forums. Most of my hobbies they've died out and been taken over by Facebook groups which aren't nearly as good. I was pretty excited to find this place and see it was still pretty active.

I have plenty of room - 40 x 60 red iron building, so that's not an issue. I started looking on Craigslist today....I'll link to some stuff I'm interested in as in comes up.
 
Hi, you will probably need a full size mill to do heads etc. A hobby size mill may not have the size capacity. I would be looking at used with some tooling included. With a $4000 budget for both machines you'll have to be lucky and find bargains.

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I should clarify that I'm NOT*** doing automotive heads. The largest would be a 4 cylinder motor cycle engine, measuring roughly 6-8 inches wide, 6 inches tall, and maybe 16 inches long. Ball park.

I'd consider pushing 5,000. This is what I can afford to spend now. I don't mind waiting a few months to buy the second piece. I may be a bit optimistic right now.
 
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Since you mentioned sprint cars among your interests, I'd recommend that you hold out for a full size Bridgeport type mill (9x42) and a lathe with at least 10-12 inch swing. Smaller equipment will do the smaller work, but you'll be feeling the limitations sooner rather than later. Let the work dictate the equipment, not the budget.
 
Also check out Facebook Marketplace. In FB look along the top for the symbol that looks like a storefront with an awning. There is tons of stuff in my area.
 
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